【News】 Dialogue for developing agriculture into growth-oriented industry to continue: Agricultural Minister and JA group representatives agree (Aug. 6, 2016)

Representatives of agricultural cooperative (JA) organizations, led by Choe Okuno, president of JA-ZENCHU (Central Union of Agricultural Cooperatives), paid a courtesy call on Yuji Yamamoto, newly appointed Minister for Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF), at MAFF’s office in Kasumigaseki, Tokyo on August 5. inister Yamamoto and delegates of the JA group shared a common perspective of developing Japanese agriculture into a growth-oriented industry. They also agreed to promote close dialogue between themselves by meeting together on a regular basis. At the meeting with MAFF’s new leader, JA-ZENCHU’s president Okuno congratulated Yuji Yamamoto on joining the new Cabinet as the Minister for Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries. Minister Yamamoto responded to the … Continue reading

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【News】 Meiji University and KUBOTA Corporation develop instant measurement system for “lycopene” & sugar contents of cherry tomatoes (Aug. 4, 2016)

Meiji University demonstrated a new system to concurrently measure lycopene and sugar contents of cherry tomatoes without slicing the tomatoes at its Ikuta campus in Kawasaki-shi, Kanagawa prefecture on August 3. The system has been jointly developed with KUBOTA Corporation, one of the global companies for agriculture and related industries headquartered at Naniwa-ku, Osaka-shi. The instrument with the new system measures the contents of a cherry tomato just in a few seconds. A number of consumers are paying attention to an ingredient of lycopene that is expected to prevent the effects of aging. An easy measurement of the lycopene is expected to enable the producers and their partners to apply … Continue reading

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【News】 Yuji Yamamoto appointed as new MAFF Minister in the reshuffled Cabinet headed by Shinzo Abe (Aug. 4, 2016)

The newly reshuffled third Cabinet of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was inaugurated on August 3. Eleven new members joined the 19-member Cabinet. Yuji Yamamoto, former State Minister in charge of financial policy, was appointed as the Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries. Economic Revitalization Minister Nobuteru Ishihara continues to be the Minister in charge of the Trans-Pacific partnership (TPP) free trade pack. At the Cabinet meeting after the reshuffle, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe directed those ministers to make every effort to seek ratification of the TPP pact at the extraordinary session of the Diet this autumn as well as accelerate the structural reform of Japanese agriculture. At the press conference … Continue reading

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【News】 Rise in Calorie-based food self-sufficiency come to standstill: 39 percent in 2015 as well (Aug. 3, 2016)

Japan’s food self-sufficiency rate in the fiscal 2015 remained 39 percent on a calorie intake basis for the sixth consecutive year, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) announced on August 2. An increase in domestic production of wheat and sugar beet was offset by a decrease in consumption of rice, one of the major crops with higher ratio of food self-sufficiency. The Government newly set a goal in 2015 to raise the food self-sufficiency rate to 45 percent by the fiscal year 2025, but the rate has come to a standstill. It will be the most urgent business for MAFF to revitalize production base of agricultural commodities as … Continue reading

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【News】More restaurants and supermarkets outsourcing rice cooking (Aug. 1, 2016)

More retailers, especially small and medium-size restaurants and supermarkets, are entrusting rice cooking to outside suppliers in an effort to cope with chronic manpower shortages. Because of the shortage of workers, some stores are forced to reduce opening hours or even close down their business. This could have a serious impact on rice consumption as well. At the same time, outside suppliers’ quality of rice cooking is being tested, as the taste of rice counts in attracting customers at smaller stores more than at large chain stores.

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